This invention relates generally to the field of electronics assembly manufacturing and test, and more particularly to line balancing and optimization of product assembly lines using a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation.
Line balancing and optimization of manufacturing and assembly lines have long been a concern in electronics assembly manufacturing and test. The manufacture of different electronic products and assemblies, such as pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, set-top boxes, circuit boards going into base stations, etc., often disparate as to type and functionality, can greatly complicate efforts at line optimization. Of interest is the achievement of throughput maximization, cycle time minimization, and quality improvement through optimized management. Considerations such as the different types of components needed for assembly of different products, the different machine models used in the factory, line configurations, the desired quantity of each product to build, etc. can effect assembly optimization. Even when different types of electronic products and assemblies are not being assembled, similar considerations must be taken into account.
Part of the optimization process for manufacturing and assembly lines may include optimization of the individual machines themselves in addition to line optimization, often following a line balancing analysis. This additional optimization step for multiple machines or stations of a line can be both time consuming and draw upon valuable computing resources.
Mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation of the line balancing problem for electronics assembly has been explored but results have been compromised by an inadequate or incomplete modeling of applicable factors, yielding a formulation that inadequately describes the actual manufacturing environment.